Ship used to provide maintenance support to warships and other vessels
A repair ship is a naval
auxiliary ship designed to provide
maintenance support to
warships. Repair ships provide similar services to
destroyer,
submarine and
seaplane tenders or
depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability including equipment and personnel for repair of more significant machinery failures or battle damage.[1]
HMS Resource was built in 1928 and remained the sole
Royal Navy repair ship at the outbreak of World War II.[1] The following ships were converted to meet wartime needs:
These
Xanthus-class repair ships were built to Royal Navy specifications by
Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard in 1944, but only the first two were temporarily loaned to the United Kingdom while the others were retained for use by the United States Navy:[11]
USS Dionysus was intended to be HMS Faithful (F177)
Japan
Japan found repair ships valuable for Pacific island bases. The pre-dreadnought battleship
Asahi was modified and recommissioned as a repair ship in 1938. The 9,000-ton purpose-designed repair ship
Akashi was launched in 1938 as the intended prototype for a class of five ships, but the remaining four ships were cancelled as other wartime shipbuilding projects assumed higher priority.[12]